FM Livni invited to attend international conference in Qatar

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Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been invited to attend a conference in Qatar next week, an official said Tuesday.

Ido Aharoni, Livni's spokesman, said she has not yet decided whether to accept the invitation to the U.N.-sponsored conference on democracy. A decision was expected later Tuesday, he said.

Should Livni choose to attend, it would be the highest-profile visit by an Israeli official to the Gulf state since then-prime minister Shimon Peres visited in 1996.

Arutz Sheva

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1. Livni cancels Qatar visit due to Hamas plan to attend summit

A pity.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has decided not to attend an international conference in Qatar Sunday due to the expected participation of a Hamas
delegation in the event.

Livni was invited to represent Israel at the UN-sponsored sixth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies in Doha. She had hoped to take advantage of her first visit to a Gulf state to strengthen Israel's ties with moderate Arab states. It was to be the most high-profile visit by an Israeli official to the Gulf state in 10 years.

Livni had learned previously that delegations from both the Palestinian parliament and from Hamas had been invited to the conference. After the Israeli representation in Qatar was informed that Hamas officials had accepted the invitation, Livni made the decision Saturday not to attend, three days after announcing her plans to travel to the Gulf state.

Israel has low-level relations with Qatar and maintains a trade representation office in Doha. Last month Livni met with Qatar's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani, at the UN General Assembly.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/779300.html

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2. Why boycott Qatar?

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Does this mean that the presence of a representative from the Israeli Foreign Ministry in the same place as parliamentarians from Hamas does not indicate recognition of Hamas, while a minister's participation in the event would translate into recognition of the movement?

Perhaps Israel should declare a boycott of Qatar, the only Arab state that is willing to maintain friendly relations with it and to permit an Israeli representation to operate in Doha, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties? Or perhaps the conference should be boycotted because it includes representatives from, among others, Iran, Syria and Lebanon?

A significant lack of insight characterizes Livni's decision. She was not being asked to speak with the Hamas members or to shake their hands. Furthermore, Qatar was the target of great pressure and criticism for having invited her.

The Lebanese foreign minister, among others, decided not to attend the conference, but Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, was not deterred - just as he has not been deterred from meeting Israeli officials in New York and other locations, and just as he did not refrain from an attempt to mediate the conflict with the Palestinians despite the low chance of success. By inviting Israel - with the agreement of Qatar's leader - the foreign minister sought to reach an additional stage in Israel's legitimization that would have tested the other Arab and Islamic states that are participating in the event.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/781001.html